Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy are awarded every two years to one or more individuals who “have dedicated their private wealth to the public good and who have sustained their philanthropic activities.” The awards are named for Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy is a prize that is conferred jointly by the over 20 institutions Carnegie founded around the world and is known as the “Nobel Prize of philanthropy.” The medals are awarded in a different city every year.
Koç Holding Honorary Chairman Rahmi Koç, the son of Vehbi Koç, accepted the award on behalf of his family at an award ceremony held at the New York Public Library on Thursday. Speaking there, he summarized his feelings with the following words: “This is without a doubt one of the most important moments of my life.” Saying that it was of great symbolic importance for the Vehbi Koç Foundation to be recognized with such an award in its 40th year, he said: “Andrew Carnegie's words on how it's more difficult to spend money wisely than to earn it were frequently repeated by our father, and they became our guide in philanthropy. As his children, we continued his legacy and his philosophy.”
His older sister, Semahat Arsel, who administrates the foundation, called the award “a blessing from God to us.” Other recipients of the award this year included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; former Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill and his wife, Joan Weill; and Intel cofounder Gordon Moore.
The fact that Armenian-American Vartan Gregoryan, a member of the award coordination committee, wrote a letter of congratulations to Koç ahead of the Carnegie ceremony, which took place after major protocols were signed between Turkey and Armenia last week, is being viewed by some pundits as a show of support from the Armenian diaspora in the United States for dialogue between Turkey and Armenia.
Accompanying Koç in New York were Arsel and Koç's sons Mustafa, Ömer and Ali Koç. He said in his speech that he was greatly honored to accept the award on behalf of his family and country.
The honorary chairman of Koç Holding explained how his father was affected by philanthropic foundations during a 1946 trip to the US. “My father would say: ‘In this country, you have to give back a segment of what you make to the community. These structures can be in the form of equipment or scholarships.' … Immediately after the Second World War, he saw that there were large foundations behind major hospitals, universities and museums in the US. The love of humanity had been institutionalized; he was greatly affected by this,” he said.
When Vehbi Koç returned to Turkey, his son explained, he tried to establish a foundation, but the nation lacked the necessary legal framework. “For 23 years, he worked without tiring with different prime ministers, governments and parliamentarians to create such a law. In the end, he was successful and established the first foundation in Turkey, which carried his own name.”
The Vehbi Koç Foundation is headed by Rahmi Koç's older sister, Arsel, and is known for its support of education, health and culture.
Benzer Haberler 
National
